I'll See You On The Other Side
by 101deamsoftheage
Summary: Harry had gone on the run and hunted down the Horcruxes. All that was left was to follow the plan that Dumbledore had painstakingly crafted for this moment. Too bad it wasn't worth shit. Harry had never expected this and it was with a single moment, a single choice, that Voldemort won the war.


_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTFUL OWNERS. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A REVIEW ABOUT WHAT YOU LIKED OR FELT COULD BE BETTER. I AM ALWAYS UP FOR HEARING CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM.  
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This was the moment it all came down to. This would be the moment that decided everything, and Harry Potter already knew how it was going to end. He had known from the moment he had stepped into the clearing and was faced with two people instead of the group he had been expecting. Voldemort had sent the Death Eaters off Merlin knew where leaving only himself and his right-hand man. Harry had fought for so long now and he was so very tired of it all.

Harry wanted to scream in frustration and instead settled for hysterical laughter. All those years of putting up with the abuse and mistreatment of his Aunt and Uncle to "keep him safe." All the years of shit Dumbledore and the rest of the adults in Harry's life had put him through. And it was all for nothing! He had lost Sirius and Remus and Tonks and Mad-Eye and Fred for nothing.

Harry was laughing so hard he couldn't keep on his feet anymore and fell to his knees, throwing his head back to laugh at the sky. Harry absently noted that the two men in the clearing with him were eying him with some concern. Finally the need to breathe for a little while longer won out over hysterically laughing at the turn his fate had taken. Harry wiped the tears from his face and looked at Voldemort.

"And what, pray tell, is so amusing Mr. Potter?" Voldemort inquired softly.

"It was all for nothing," Harry chuckled, "all the years of bullshit I've put up with. All the years Dumbledore spent planning for this exact moment, and it was all for nothing because you're a vindictive bastard!"

"What do you mean Potter?" Voldemort snarled his crimson eyes narrowing in displeasure at the thought of being so predictable.

"Dumbledore always swore that it was going to be you that killed me, that you would never allow anyone else to do the honors, but you're going to have Lucius do it. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here and it would be just you and me."

"I fail to see how this is so amusing."

"It is because the only reason you would have Lucius do it is if you were punishing him for something since you know full well how he feels about harming children," Harry informed the snake-faced man.

And it was true. The only reason Lucius Malfoy was there, was as punishment. Of course, Voldemort didn't know just how much of a punishment this was going to truly be. If he did then Harry doubted that Lucius would even still be breathing. Harry smiled sadly at the elder Malfoy and tried to tell him with his eyes that everything would be okay, even though Harry didn't believe it.

Lucius looked better than he had a few months ago when Harry and his friends had been brought to Malfoy Manor. He didn't look as worn and haggard. He had regained his ethereal beauty and stunning grace. Lucius wasn't wearing robes like the rest of the Death Eaters had been. Instead, he was dressed in black slacks with a midnight blue, long-sleeved, button up that was tucked into his pants. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing the wand holster that was strapped to one elegant forearm.

Lucius' silvery eyes were pleading with Harry to do something, anything, to escape from this. But the truth was that Harry was so tired of constantly fighting, of constantly losing everything he held dear. He was done with it all and honestly, he could think of worse ways to go than at the hand of Lucius Malfoy.

"True. Lucius will the one to deliver you to death, Mr. Potter. We shall see how much your luck holds when it isn't me who attempts the killing," Voldemort mused. He jerked his head toward Harry in a silent command for Lucius to get on with it.

Harry could see Lucius trembling as he approached. Harry hadn't bothered to stand from where he knelt. He'd be dead soon enough that it wouldn't matter. The trembling got worse the closer Lucius got until the man stopped about two feet away. Slowly Lucius withdrew a wand from the holster on his forearm and Harry noted that it was not the man's original wand.

Lucius was shaking so badly that Harry thought it was a miracle that the man could actually aim the wand. Tears were falling down his beautiful face and Harry could feel the answering wetness on his own face because of it. Harry didn't think it was fair that Lucius had to do this. It really would have been better if Voldemort had been the one to do it, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Lucius wouldn't be able to kill the Horcrux inside Harry because he hadn't been the one to make it. But Lucius would succeed in killing Harry and Voldemort would win the war because of it.

"What are you waiting for Lucius, kill the brat," Voldemort hissed. The tears were falling faster down both their faces and Lucius choked off a sob in an attempt to keep some kind of dignity in the face of Voldemort.

"I can't," Lucius whispered so softly that only Harry was able to hear him.

"Yes, you can. It's okay," Harry answered back just as softly.

"Kill the brat, or I will drag your wife and son in front of you and kill them one by one while you watch," Voldemort threatened harshly. Harry could see Lucius breaking and Harry felt his own heart breaking in response to the raw pain on the man's face.

Lucius' legs finally gave out and he fell to his knees in front of Harry. He gave up on all pretenses of keeping some dignity and didn't bother to muffle his sob this time.

"I can't. I can't kill you. Please don't make me," Lucius sobbed to Harry. The man had dropped his wand to his side and allowed his free hand to curl into the hair at the nape of Harry's neck. Harry leaned forward to cup Lucius's face, gently, in his hands. Gently, and with shaking hands of his own, Harry caressed the soft face of his lover.

Harry knew it was cruel of him to ask Lucius to do this, to kill him. Harry knew it was cruel because Harry didn't think he could ever do this, but unlike Lucius, Harry did not have a child or a best friend in the facade of a wife to leave behind. However, Harry knew how much Draco meant to Lucius and because of that Harry would never endanger his former nemesis, even if Harry had to take Lucius by the wrist and bring the wand to his heart.

"Yes, you can. You have to. If you don't he will kill Draco and Narcissa in front of you and I can't be the reason that you lose them. I know you don't want to do this Luc, but better you than someone who would make it hurt," Harry whispered. Lucius was still sobbing and clutching at Harry like he was the most precious thing in Lucius's world.

"Please, Harry," Lucius begged. Harry moved his hands, soothingly, through Lucius's silken hair. Harry had Lucius had spoken of their plans with each other after the war was over, but those plans would never be realized now. There would be no children in Harry's future, no younger brother's and sisters for Draco. Harry pulled Lucius into one final kiss. Harry poured all the love he felt for Lucius into that kiss as well as all the reassurance he could.

"I love you, Lucius. I will always love you, even if I had always known this was where I would end up. I have never regretted loving you and I never will. My only regret is that it is you that has to do this. You do what you have to to keep Draco and Narcissa safe, and after a long, long time has passed. I'll see you on the other side," Harry whispered and pulled completely back from the man he had loved more than life itself. Harry idly wondered if this was how his father had felt when he had died to save him and his mother that night, all those many years ago. It seemed to Harry as if things had come full circle.

Sobbing from the raw pain he was feeling, Harry, watched as Lucius slowly, but surely, raised the wand clenched in his hand until it was level with Harry's heart. "I love you and I'll see you soon," Lucius promised. Lucius kept his eyes locked with those of his lover and softly incanted,

" _Avada Kedavra_ ,"


End file.
